I've been fortunate enough to never need a food pantry myself. I used to periodically donate to a local pantry run by the widow of a late fraternal society member, which was affiliated with a local church. Unfortunately, after many years of selfless service she passed away, and without her dynamism at the helm, the pantry flamed out without her. There are other pantries, but the one named after her seems to be gone.

Yes, down here in the states, most food pantries seem to be run out of local churches.

ΦΒΚ - Φιλοσοφία Βίου Κυβερνήτης ("Love of learning is the guide of life")

Not a problem. The only 'serious' bit is the Serious section and even then it's fairly light hearted.

As far as food banks go, in the UK I remember reading about a report on the 'customers'. Apparently they were split roughly evenly between 'long-term' where the same people struggled to get enough food over several months and 'irregular' where people would suddenly find themselves short of money and rely on a food bank to get them through to pay day. (All terminology in apostrophes is mine and the best I can remember.)

I'm willing to bet all of the people making policy decisions on benefits, the minimum wage and food banks from all parties have never been in the situation where having an unexpected bill (boiler repair or emergency plumber for example) means you don't have enough money for rent, heating and food.

Too old to give up but too young to rest - Pete Townshend

I would rather be a rising ape than a falling angel - Sir Terry Pratchett

The biggest umbrella body for food banks in the UK is the Trussell Trust. Yes, it is a Christian organisation. Yes, the food banks for the most part operate out of churches. However, they are quite clear that this is a duty on Christian people to provide charity, aid, support, however you want to call it, but not to evangelise. For the most part, the individual food banks respect that, and don't ram Jesus down people's throats.

I do income maximisation checks at our local foodbank. I check if people are eligible for more benefits, school clothing grants, tax credits (while they're still here), anything else. I get in around people's lives and look for ways to address their problems and break the cycle of poverty.

The sad bit is that nine times out of ten, there is nothing that I can do. These people are not drinking all the money, gambling it away, they might have Sky TV but they are tied into a contract, they need their mobile phones to communicate. They are not spending it all on holidays. They are not lazy, or feckless, or stupid and uneducated. They are just denied opportunity to live a decent quality of life

We have been here before, by the way: Round About A Pound A Week, by Maud Pember Reeves. 1913. Same shit, different century. This is the stuff that led to the formation of the Labour Party. Not that you'd recognise it now.

"I don't mean to sound bitter, cynical and cruel; but I am, so that's how it comes out." Bill Hicks."One should not believe everything one reads on the internet." Abraham Lincoln"Are you OK?" daftbeaker (<-- very good question, people should ask it more often.)

Parental also volunteers at the local Tressul Trust food bank. Reckons that the majority of clients are there because of issues concerning welfare - either they've lost a job and they have to wait weeks and weeks for them to get any form of unemployment, or because they've had their job seekers allowance sanctioned (and I've lost count of the number of times the reason given for the sanction has been really stupid - not attending the job centre because they have a job interview, that sort of thing). Very few are there because they are lazy or feckless.

Parental sends me a text every week with a list of the things they're short of - always try to add a few of them into my basket when I'm shopping

Cardinal Fang wrote:Reckons that the majority of clients are there because of issues concerning welfare - either they've lost a job and they have to wait weeks and weeks for them to get any form of unemployment, or because they've had their job seekers allowance sanctioned (and I've lost count of the number of times the reason given for the sanction has been really stupid - not attending the job centre because they have a job interview, that sort of thing).

Sounds familiar. When I first applied for incapacity benefit (on account of being in about 5 pieces held together with metal and missing half my blood) I was told I wasn't eligible as I was still technically a student. The fact I wasn't at university and having a year out due to being broken had no effect. Then, the next year when I was reasonably healthy and back at university they insisted on paying me the money they'd refused to give me the previous year when I actually bloody needed it The DWP are a useless disorganised shambles, seem to be staffed by people that couldn't get a job anywhere else and won't send you 1 letter if they can send you 3, all saying exactly the same thing.

Having said that, the people I've spoken to on the phone have been nice and actually quite helpful, it's just a shame there's about 4 of them and impossible to get hold of them after noon.

Too old to give up but too young to rest - Pete Townshend

I would rather be a rising ape than a falling angel - Sir Terry Pratchett

daftbeaker wrote:The DWP are a useless disorganised shambles, seem to be staffed by people that couldn't get a job anywhere else and won't send you 1 letter if they can send you 3, all saying exactly the same thing.

Having said that, the people I've spoken to on the phone have been nice and actually quite helpful, it's just a shame there's about 4 of them and impossible to get hold of them after noon.

The DWP is staffed by Civil Servants. They are people with mortgages, children, organs, dimensions, perceptions etc. Civil Servants are obliged to work within the rules. Ignoring the rules or misinterpreting them is gross misconduct = sacked = no pension etc. They are nice people, but they are in the pay of an unpleasant government who don't like them doing their job.

My wife is a Scottish Civil Servant. She has to work closely with her English / rUK counterparts in the same job. She loves her job: they hate theirs. Not a happy situation, but also not a surprise.

"I don't mean to sound bitter, cynical and cruel; but I am, so that's how it comes out." Bill Hicks."One should not believe everything one reads on the internet." Abraham Lincoln"Are you OK?" daftbeaker (<-- very good question, people should ask it more often.)